Vesh
Alignment: NG *Capital: Lave *Major Races: Humans, dwarves, elfs, half-elves, halflings *Official Religions: Madriel, Tanil *Languages: Common, Veshan To much of Ghelspad, Vesh is a shining beacon of hope in a wasteland of darkness. To others, particularly titanspawn and Callistia, it is a troublesome nusiance that must be crushed. Vesh is one of the few nations in Ghelspad that made it through the Divine War and the aftermath with its lands and its soul intact. The Veshan people have weathered the collapse of the Ledean Empire, driven back the armies of the Charduni, stood side by side with Gods, provided timely aid to the elves of Vera-Tre, withstood the wrath of the Blood Monsoon, and stood sholder to shoulder with the dwarves against King Virduk's conquering army, and more. Indeed, whenever a good nation has been faced with disaster, Vesh has sent aid to ensure they did not fall. Although they have not always been successful, they are still viewed by many as the leader of the free world. Vesh is a democratic monarchy, with its rulers being elected to serve five year terms by a popular vote of the people. The only qualification required to stand for election is military service and in the past five decades Vesh has been led by scions of noble familes and the sons of pig farmers alike. The "home commander" has absolute authority for the length of his term and is both the civil and military leader. However, much of the day to day ruling of the nation is delegated to the noble families who still retain their ancient holdings and as much of their rights and privileges as do not trample the rights of the people. The best known representatives of Vesh beyond their borders are the Vigils. In many peoples' minds these rangers are the army of Vesh, but in reality they are only a small portion of it. Vesh mantains a standing army that includes everything from heavy cavalry to war mages, to bowmen, infantry, and even trained combat clerics. Veshans are known for thier light olive complection and their hair which ranges from light brown to black. However, it is not uncommon to find people from any region of Ghelspad, and sometimes beyond, living Vesh. Dwarves are common through out the nation, and many have adopted human ways and other than height are almost indistinguishable from human. This is particularly true in the south, where the dwarves so closely resemble ethnic Veshans that some joke that humans and dwarves must have "lived together" at some point. The one exception to this is the provence of Dalane. Dalane is more dwarven than human, with several dwarf clans ruling the region and pushing dwarf interests. Dalane dwarves still retain most of the sterotypical characteristics of other dwarves, like the clans who live in Burok Torn. Elves tend to live in segragated communities in the northern half of Vesh where the great forests are. Almost no elves reside in the south permenantly. Half-elves and halflings tend to dwell where ever humans are. Although there are no large populations of other races in Vesh, the people are cosmopalition enough that they react more with curiosity than fear to half-orcs, proud, and others. Music and art is encouraged in Vesh. Every village has at least one person who can play a spritely tune at festivals and in the cities differing schools of art can lead to feuds that are every bit as intense, although not as violent, as any that nobility in other nations might engage in. Veshan law is based on the standard of a "reasonable man." They believe that the circumstances around a man's actions should be considered rather than just the act itself. A person may be found innocent of a crime if she can prove that she was under duress or the control of another (magical or otherwise.) This is a time consuming process however, as it requires investigation by a cleric or arcane spellcaster. Veshan law favors a fine or indentured servatude to imprisonment for most crimes. Only when a person is a repeat offender or the crime is particulaly brutal is imprisonment considered and only treason carries the death penalty. Slavery is illegal in Vesh, and a slave is considered free by the law when they enter the nation.